Domestic Violence In The Birth-Mark And The Crucible

In the short allegory “The Birthmark”, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, a newly-wed couple becomes consumed by the existence of a small birthmark on the wife’s face. When the wife, Georgiana, allows her husband Aylmer, a scientist, to remove the birthmark, both realize that Georgiana will inevitably sacrifice her life for the sake of its removal. As the story progresses, so does the confliction of the newlyweds as they realize exactly what the birthmark symbolized to and for each other. Hawthorne’s hallmark use of symbolism also provides a ‘perfect’ glimpse into the mindset of two themes of psychological conflictions: perfectionism and codependency. Hawthorne seems to share this story as a possible moral of the hidden pathos we place upon the ones we love, and the invisible marks or standards we place upon ourselves for the ones we love.

In Nathaniel Hawthorne 's “The Birthmark”, we find the tragic story of a woman named Georgiana who sacrificed her life for the sake of appeasing her husband, Aylmer. What did Georgiana do that it was more favorable for her to die than to continuing to displease her husband? Georgiana, who was otherwise hailed as incomparably beautiful, had a birthmark on her face. Aylmer desired this to remove this birthmark, which he considered the one thing keeping her from being “perfect”, from her face. In an attempt to remedy his wife’s “imperfection”, Aylmer makes an elixir for her to drink. While this elixir successfully removes the birthmark, the same elixir also causes Georgiana to die soon after. This story brings to light several examples of how society belittles women and puts their desires below the desires of men.

Every action is followed by a reaction; however, occasionally the reaction is only a temporary solution that leads to long-term consequences. This is especially true of how domestic violence is currently governed by the criminal justice system and social norms. A lack of preventative care exists and this ignores the consequences of domestic violence in our society. Incidents of domestic violence are often treated as one-time or isolated occurrences; however, in many cases abusers and victims fall back into these learnt behaviors. Therefore, domestic violence is a never-ending cycle that cannot be stopped without cultural and legal changes that focus on preventing further instances of violence and empowering victims to break the cycle.

Nathaniel Hawthorne’s short story “The Birthmark”, provides an example of a woman who remains submissive in her role centers around a woman named Georgiana and her husband Aylmer. Georgiana is the

Domestic Violence is a critical issue negatively impacting women in the world today. There has to be something done to prevent this type of abuse from happening. The results of my research revealed that there are many victims that do not know the type of help that is available and there needs to be major improvement in the way domestic violence cases are handled. Based on my findings, awareness and prevention programs should be implemented in every state in order prevent this type of abuse from happening over and over. Also, each program must be monitored to ensure they are following the proper guidelines in order to better serve the victims and their families.

This literary writing will attempt to examine the impact of domestic violence (DV) in the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender community (LGBT). Domestic violence is prominent in a homosexual relationship, if not more so than in a heterosexual relationship (White & Goldberg, 2006). Domestic violence is also associated with intimate partner violence (IPV) (Dunne, 2014). Statistically, domestic violence rates are higher than heterosexual domestic violence with IPV (Fox, 2010). Knowing that domestic violence brings about a plethora of disparities, it is solidified

On July 29th, 2006, Rafael Dangond and Lissette Ochoa were invited to a wedding party in an exclusive Country Club in the city of Barranquilla, Columbia. Dangond soon became outraged and aggressive after seeing Ochoa was dancing with a young male, who is one of her friends traveled from Venezuela to attend the wedding party. He fiercely attacked Ochoa once she exited the event and the violence constantly continued for over two hours. This extreme brutal act is a product of Dangond’s desires to control and dominate his wife because of his low self-esteem and extreme jealousy. As a result of Dangond’s abusive act, Ochoa suffered multiple physical traumas mainly on her head. Although Dangond’s performance seem to be a case of direct violence stemming from jealousy and frustration, it is also important to recognize the cultural and structural aspects involved in the conflict. The culture of domestic violence in Columbia, which are usually considered as being part of normal married life in the society and the vertically hierarchical relationships between husband and wife in a family must also be examined in order to fully determine the complexity of the conflict. Because of the vertical social structures, Dangond’s action is likely to continue between he and his wife. However, in order to decrease the prospect of future violence, laws regarding violence against women must be enforced and the abolition of the vertical familial patriarchal social system in

Georgiana’s birthmark is unique to her, and in many ways, it is symbolic of her true self though her birthmark is what leads to her ultimate downfall. The minuscule and nearly transparent reddish pink handprint that inhabited Georgiana’s left cheek was a point of contention in her marriage. Georgiana loved her birthmark, “it has been so often called a charm, that I was simple enough to imagine it might be so,” it was a mark of her individuality and beautiful in its own and rare way (Hawthorne 340). It was only when Aylmer, her husband, expressed his interest in removing it calling it, the visible mark of earthly imperfection,” that Georgiana begins to loathe her birthmark (Hawthorne

I simply looked up Domestic Violence Resources in Snohomish County in my search bar Online. Right away there were resources available for myself or other’s to use. I found a couple helpful websites on is http://snohomishcountywa.gov/434/Helpful-Resources and the other is http://www.dvs-snoco.org . Both of the sites gives options and resources for people who are going through or have been victim of domestic violence. It was really easy to find these resources online.

The domestic violence field at first was, was a field I never saw myself interested in. Now, after the trauma in my past I have met some incredible people who work in this field and perform amazing work by helping these people. My therapist Erin Scholezenski, is a trauma therapist that only works with children and adults that have suffered trauma through domestic violence, self-harm, rape, verbal and physical abuse and major trauma events such as the Aurora Movie Theater Shooting. She has her own private practice in Parker, Co and is the Director at Aurora Mental Health Center off Parker and Hampden. Going into this interview, I went in knowing some background of domestic violence but not knowing how this field can impact the therapist that is helping these clients get past their trauma. I wanted to know how domestic violence has affected her life and why she stopped working with perpetrators. I made this my main focus of the interview.

Portrayed as spiritual and intellectual in contrast with his crude laboratory assistant Aminadab, Aylmer becomes disturbingly obsessed with a birthmark on his wife’s countenance. The plot of the short story revolves around the man’s attempt in removing the mark, which results in the death of Georgiana. In the very beginning of the story, the audience discovers through the narration that Aylmer views his wife’s birthmark as more than a congenital, benign irregularity on the skin. In reality, the primary reason why he becomes severely obsessed with the birthmark is because in his eyes, the mark symbolizes something. Aylmer proceeds to further clarify his inner thoughts by replying to his wife, “This slightest possible defect, which we hesitate whether to term a defect or a beauty, shocks me, as being the visible mark of earthly imperfection” (Mays 340). Although Georgiana is initially mortified and even goes as far to question the existence of the marriage between them, the narration later sheds light and explains that the precise reason why Aylmer is excessively bothered with the birthmark is because he regards Georgiana as virtually the embodiment of perfection. As a consequence, perceiving a flaw on his wife’s image that clashes with the concept of her beauty inevitably leads him to feel aggrieved and begin to judge the birthmark as a dangerous blemish residing on her skin.

•1 in 3 women and 1 in 4 men in the United States have experienced some form of physical violence by an intimate partner.

There are many different types of domestic violence. Physical abuse is the most obvious form, but this is not to say that outsiders always recognize it. Generally, physical violence causes bodily harm, using a variety of methods. Slapping, pushing, throwing, hitting, punching, and strangling are only a few methods. An object or weapon may or may not be used. There is not always physical evidence of physical abuse such as bruising, bleeding, scratches, bumps, etc., therefore, absence of physical marks does not necessarily mean physical abuse had not occurred. Physical abuse sometimes escalates to murder (Morris and Biehl 7, Haley 14-17).

Our existence can be illustrated by envisioning a painter who is fabricating a painting. As the painter begins to use the soft brush, its thistles with each movement construct systems and subsystems that are elaborately woven together to display biased perception of ourselves. Consequently, a misguided stroke may alter an exceptional piece of art turning it into a catastrophe. Regrettably, this metaphor unveils the misfortune that can occur in the lives of numerous individuals. Comparatively, like the painter who can be consumed by adversity, a victim of domestic violence with one misstep can eradicate his/her own life.

Domestic violence is an act of abusive behavior inflicted by someone in your household. The film No one would tell (1996) is about an abusive relationship that takes place outside of the home but was most likely influenced by domestic abuse. Stacy Collins, who is sixteen met and started dating a popular jockey named Bobby Tennison who went to her school. At first, everything seems perfect, but it ends up taking a turn for the worse. Bobby grew more and more abusive throughout the film and ended up murdering Stacy. The movie is based on a true story and teaches how hard it is to detect abuse, and how hard it can be to leave an abusive relationship.